Worth the Risk

Sometimes in life, risks do pay off.  At other times in life, it’s best to play it safe, guaranteeing an outcome of success. The key is knowing when to take risks and when not to.

Below is some helpful information when it comes to sex and relationships, but ultimately, you have to decide – Is it worth the risk?

Let’s look at this hypothetically, as if sex is some game to be played. To be clear, it’s not, but let’s pretend you want to “play the game of sex”. What are the risks? Whats the chances of winning? Whats does it mean if you lose? Who is keeping score, anyway? Is this score kept by tallying one’s body count or is it the number of pregnancies or STDs someone has experienced? How about this, before you decide to have sex, why not have all the information so you can manage, or avoid, the risk altogether.

According to the CDC, half of all sexually active young people will contract an STD by the age of 25 and 1in 4 adolescent girls will become pregnant by the age of 20. According to the NIH young people that have been sexually active are more likely to experience depression and, sadly, attempt suicide.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

The truth is, STDs can affect anyone, no matter who they have sex with. STDs spread through vaginal, anal, and oral sex. In rare situations they can simply spread through genital touching. STDs can be more dangerous for pregnant women because they can spread to the baby during child birth. We offer FREE STD testing.

– Infections like Chlamydia are more common among women and can go undetected with mild symptoms. If ignored and left untreated it can cause permanent damage to reproductive organs increasing the risk of ectopic pregnancies. Infections like Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis are frequently transmitted, but typically curable with antibacterial medicine.

– When it comes to viral infections, be prepared for a life-long commitment. You’re not getting rid of these. Genital Herpes, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and HIV are infections that never go away. Throughout your life you may experience genital blisters (herpes), genital warts (HPV), cervical cancer (HPV), or a complete failure of your immune system (HIV/AIDS). You can get medications to treat outbreaks of sores and blisters, but you cannot cure these infections.

But it is most important to get tested if you think you may have been exposed.

Pregnancy

A sad truth is that more often the girl is left to deal with pregnancy alone. Without support from the father of the pregnancy she is left to consider all options on her own and none of them are easy choices as a teen. Whether you parent, abort, or place for adoption you will forever be affected by that pregnancy outcome.

– Though abortion seems logical for a teenage girl, are you aware of all procedures and associated risks? Have you researched the cost of an abortion? Are you in a state in which abortion is legal? Have you progressed too far in the pregnancy to take an abortion pill? These are all good things to know before you make your final decisions. We can help. Find more information at this site.

– Adoption may work best if you can’t parent and you rule out abortion. That does not mean it will be easy, but new adoption laws and processes do make it easier to consider for the birth parent. As the birth parent(s) you are in the driver seat of the adoption and you get to play an active role in securing a healthy future for your child. Find out more here.

– Parenting is no walk in the park, but with the right support it can be done by anyone, at any age. Even if a young lady is facing it alone, she can still establish child support obligations with the father of the baby to gain some much needed resources. As a teen parent, you will have to reconsider how you spend your free time, how you seek income, what you do after high school, and the future of the relationship between the parents. But it is not the end of the world, if you choose to parent, you can do this and we can help.

Mental and Emotional Health 

Sex isn’t just about body parts. Things as important as love, marriage, relationships, and sex ARE NOT just about genitalia. What about your heart? What about your mind? Have you weighed out the tole it may take on you internally? And what does it do to you emotionally when you have to consider your life with a permanent STD infection? These are tough questions but they are worth considering.

– Young people today are already riddled with increased depression and anxiety and studies show a direct link between teen sex and an increase in both of these categories. Dr. Meg Meeker states, “Teenage sexual activity routinely leads to emotional turmoil and psychological distress…to empty relationships, to feelings of self-contempt and worthlessness. All, of course, precursors to depression.”

– Teen sex is also a significant contributor to self-doubt, low self-expectations, and feelings of purposelessness. You may seek sex to feel wanted or cared for, but after the act, those feelings are left unsatisfied, perhaps resulting in a worse condition than before. Sex will not produce internal confidence and as we routinely degrade ourselves with shallow relationships we could get stuck in a perpetual loop of self-destruction.

– And sadly, teen sex has an eerie connection to teen suicide and self-harm. Sex is thrilling, it does give us some temporary satisfaction, and it adds great value to a marriage. But once the thrill is over, reality sets back in. So it does not offer an escape from troubling thoughts of self-harm. Based on what was said above, it may actually contribute to increased suicidal thoughts.

Is it worth the risk? 

The bottom line, statistically speaking, the odds are stacked against you if you treat sex purely as fun. It does hold special meaning for a lot of couples, but when you choose to keep it for marriage only, it offers the best outcomes. Below are a few of the  benefits by keeping sex in marriage.

– 100% protection from STD infections (when sexually faithful to ONE spouse)

– It improves your immune system, resulting in fewer sick days

– Pregnancy is welcomed and within a dual income or two-parent home so the work load of parenting gets shared

– Emotional security within the marriage leads to better mental health (because the relationship does not depend on sexual performance)

– Plus it…lowers blood pressure, relieves pain, decreases depression, relieves tress, makes for better sleep, increase cardiovascular health, burns calories, relieves headaches, lowers risk of heart attack, reduces risk of breast or prostate cancer, and leads to longer life.

To find out more about resources that can help you make healthy sexual decisions please visit here and ask about “Sexual Integrity” classes.